Takanori Gomi
Takanori Gomi is a fighter fighting in the UFC's lightweight division and he is the former Pride lightweight champion. He lost his UFC debut to highly-ranked contender Kenny Florian and he was set to face scrapper Joe Stevenson. Instead Stevenson was injured and Tyson Griffin replaced him. Gomi knocked Griffin out cold with a right hand from hell. He was rumored to next face Dennis Siver, but instead he faced Clay Guida. Guida defeated Gomi via second-round guillotine choke submission. He next welcomed Nate Diaz back to the lightweight division, losing via first-round armbar submission. Gomi was next rumored to face well-rounded TUF veteran Matt Wiman in the UFC's return to his own native Japan. Instead, former Australian contender George Sotiropoulos signed up for the showdown in Japan. Sotiropoulos was injured shortly before the bout was scheduled to take place, in late January 2012. He was replaced by UFC newcomer Eiji Mitsuoka. Gomi defeated Mitsuoka via second round technical knockout. He next faced Mac Danzig in the UFC's first China show winning via a close and competitive split decision. Gomi next signed to return to Japan against TUF Season 1 winner Diego Sanchez. Gomi showed up to the fight in prime Pride form, with Sanchez meeting him every step of the way. At the end of the night, however, Sanchez had done enough to earn a controversial split decision victory. Unfortunately Gomi also suffered a broken hand in the "loss." About a year later in March 2014 Gomi signed to fight Strikeforce veteran Isaac Vallie-Flagg. Gomi and Vallie-Flagg went to war for fifteen minutes with Gomi emerging victorious via unanimous decision. Gomi then fought rising undefeated contender Myles Jury in Gomi's own native Japan losing via a quick and a shocking first round knockout. Gomi took some time off before next signing to fight fan favorite Joe Lauzon in what was sure to be a fun fight. Fights *Takanori Gomi vs. Stephen Palling - The fight was Stephen Palling's first loss. *Takanori Gomi vs. Rumina Sato - The fight was for the vacant Shooto welterweight (143 to 154 pound) title. *Takanori Gomi vs. Dokonjonosuke Mishima - The fight was for the Shooto welterweight (154 lbs) championship with Takanori Gomi defending. *B.J. Penn vs. Takanori Gomi *Takanori Gomi vs. Charles Bennett *Jens Pulver vs. Takanori Gomi - The fight was Jens Pulver's Pride debut. *Takanori Gomi vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri - The fight was in the quarterfinals of the Pride 2005 lightweight grand prix. It was voted the Pride fight of the year for 2005. *Takanori Gomi vs. Luiz Azeredo 2 - The fight was in the semifinals of the Pride lightweight tournament. *Marcus Aurelio vs. Takanori Gomi 1 - The fight was a non-title upset victory for Marcus Aurelio. *Takanori Gomi vs. David Baron - The fight was David Baron's Pride debut. *Takanori Gomi vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida - The fight was Mitsuhiro Ishida's last fight in Pride and Gomi's next to last fight in Pride. *Nick Diaz vs. Takanori Gomi - The fight was Nick Diaz's Pride debut and only fight with the promotion. Diaz won the fight via gogoplata submission after breaking his orbital during the bout. After the fight, Diaz tested positive for marijuana and the fight result was changed to a no-contest. *Duane Ludwig vs. Takanori Gomi - The fight was for Sengoku. The fight ended in a controversial cut stoppage victory for Gomi after a knockdown. *Takanori Gomi vs. Satoru Kitaoka - The fight was for the vacant Sengoku lightweight title. *Takanori Gomi vs. Takashi Nakakara *Takanori Gomi vs. Tony Hervey *Kenny Florian vs. Takanori Gomi - The fight was the UFC debut of Gomi. *Clay Guida vs. Takanori Gomi *Nate Diaz vs. Takanori Gomi - The fight was the return to lightweight for Nate Diaz and he put on probably his career-defining performance to date. *Takanori Gomi vs. Eiji Mitsuoka - The fight was the UFC debut of Eiji Mitsuoka as a late replacement for an injured George Sotiropoulos. *Takanori Gomi vs. Mac Danzig *Joe Lauzon vs. Takanori Gomi *Jim Miller vs. Takanori Gomi - The fight was almost certainly a loser-leaves-town type of matchup between the two diminished veterans. Category:Pride champions Category:Lightweight fighters